Favorite Movie:
My new release, Up Close And Pawsonal, is titled after an iconic 1990s movie starring Robert Redford and Michelle Pfeiffer. The movie begins with Sally, who will be renamed Tally, trying to break into the television news industry. She faces an uphill battle against a male-dominated industry, office politics, and self-doubt.
My Book:
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My protagonist, Lily Dreyfus, is confident in her career as
an Adoption Coordinator at an animal shelter. However, as an amateur sleuth,
she battles against authority figures and her own emotions. Up Close And
Pawsonal opens with an idyllic scene. Lily and her boyfriend enjoy music by
a cover band at an outdoor concert. The serenity of the evening is destroyed
when shots are fired from a passing SUV, killing two of the band members. Lily
suffers from PTSD but is intent on discovering the reason for the shooting
since one of the band members killed is her coworker’s nephew.
Tally wants to ask the difficult questions of politicians
but is often thwarted by supervisors and jealous anchors. She must overcome her
insecurities in the face of these authority figures to garner the resources she
requires for her news stories. She is aided by a news veteran Warren Justice
who teaches her to formulate hard-hitting questions and ask them with
confidence.
Lily staffs an adoption event held at a local PetSmart. She
meets a young mother with two rambunctious boys who have been promised a dog by
their father for bringing home excellent first-grade report cards. Lily
explains to the boys that having a dog is a lot of work, and they will have to be
responsible for the dog’s care. The father views Lily’s words as a criticism of
his parenting skill and becomes enraged.
Tally often faced enraged individuals when she exposed
corrupt politicians and social injustice in her reporting. She summoned courage
and relentlessly sought answers until she learned the truth.
Lily’s friend Lucinda Miller encounters similar challenges
as a state auditor. Lucinda is sent to a county police station to audit the use
of DEA grant funds to run an undercover narcotics operation. Lucinda asks
questions about financial record keeping and receives evasive answers. Her
intuition leads her to uncover misappropriations of the grant funds, much like
Tally’s intuition leads to uncovering corruption.
Tally explores stories from multiple angles to connect the dots
of the cause of injustice. As Lily digs into the motivations behind the
drive-by shooting, she meets a young man who served as a confidential informant
in the undercover narcotics operation. Lily introduces him to Lucinda, and he
provides crucial information to Lucinda’s audit. Lily, like Tally, connects the
dots even when situations seem incongruous.
Lily and Lucinda realize that the man who became enraged at
the adoption event and the man avoiding the auditor’s questions are one in the
same. The two women support each other to reach their goals, much like Tally
had Warren’s support guiding her through on-air interviews that exposed social
injustices.
In the end, all of the women are victorious. They overcome fear, anxiety, and other obstacles to expose the truth.
Bio Darlene Dziomba: Darlene is a member of Sisters in Crime National and several regional SinC
groups. She combined her passion for the written word and animals into the Lily Dreyfus series. Darlene volunteers at the Animal Welfare Association, a New Jersey animal shelter, where she chats with the dogs while completing her assignments. She has a 30-year career in Finance at the University of Pennsylvania and is an avid reader, gardener, and traveler. Darlene lives in New Jersey with her four-legged best friend, Billie.
Buy link: Amazon
Find Darlene at: Website
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